This communal bank is called “Triunfadoras sin Limite” and is made up of 12 members who are from the community of La Florida. They work mostly in selling cleaning products, clothing, jams, and custards (flan), hats, food, French fries, typical fried pastries, dressmaking and hairstyling. The member who was interviewed is Katherine, the education delegate. In the photo she is in the second row, shown standing second, going from left to right, and she’s wearing a blue sweater. She sells chocolate products, mostly candies and cuchiflis (bars filled with caramelized sweetened condensed milk). She sells her products in stores and child care centers and has been working in this business for 4 years. She is a beautician and she also does relaxation therapy, shiatsu, and manicures in people’s homes. Also when she is faced with times of economic crises, she borrows her mother's sewing machine and makes jerseys for a school. She will use the loan to buy the caramelized milk spread, chocolates, cookies to make the typical candies, and plastic sticks to make chocolate bars. Her goal is to sell only by the box, because now she sells mostly individually. Her biggest dream is to have a costume store.

Katherine’s motivation for all this is her 2 children, 12 and 5, and her husband, who has been a basic support for her. What she most likes about participating with Fondo Esperanza is that she has been able to become motivated and appreciate her business more. She does this knowing that she can continue receiving loans if she is responsible, something that she is always working to achieve. La Florida is a community located in the southeast of Santiago, the capital of Chile. Its current population has all economic levels that are found in the metropolitan area: upper, upper middle, middle, and lower middle classes. The area has modern commercial centers and is a growing community.

Additional Information

About Fondo Esperanza

Fondo Esperanza (FE) is a private non-profit organization that supports entrepreneurship by providing micro-credit and training to people living in poverty in well over 100 cities throughout Chile. By providing these services, FE aims to improve the living conditions of the entrepreneurs and their families. In 2010, FE provided loans to more than 41,000 entrepreneurs. It utilizes a communal banking model in which groups of 18 to 25 clients meet on regularly and guarantee each other’s loans. The members use their portion of the loan to create or expand their own businesses. In the group meetings, clients receive training though the FE Entrepreneurship School, which enhances clients’ personal and business skills and ability to work in groups.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.